Butcher eyes new Inverness signings
TERRY Butcher is targeting two more additions to his squad this month after being impressed by his five summer recruits to date.
The Caley Thistle manager is eyeing up players south of the boarder to replace last season’s top scorers Gregory Tade and Jonny Hayes, but is tight lipped over his targets.
“The squad is tight-knit and has gelled quickly, but we are looking to bring in a couple more, hopefully this week,” he said yesterday.
“The sooner we get them the better because this is fast becoming a very strong squad.
“There is still some work to be done, but we are pretty pleased with what we have done so far and if we can get those in that we want then it will certainly add to it, but I don’t want to reveal any names at the moment.
“But I have been very pleased with the new lads,” continued Butcher, who confirmed French defender Kenny Gillet has left the club.
“They are proving to be very good athletes and have a very good hunger.”
Butcher intends to divide his squad for pre-season friendlies at fellow Inverness side Clach tonight and Highland League champions Forres Mechanics tomorrow.
“We will split the squad and it will be a very young side against Clach because we want all the players to get to play as close to 90 minutes as possible over these two games, before facing Elgin on Saturday,” he said.
“We always get very good competitive matches against these teams and we’re looking forward to them, especially the younger players who get the experience alongside senior players and the chance to play at that pace.”
Meanwhile, Clach manager Iain Polworth is set to include some new faces in his squad tomorrow.
The Lilywhites boss was reluctant to identify his recruits until the deals were finalised.
“It’s always a big test for us against Caley Thistle and it might be more of a fitness exercise for us than anything else because they will have a lot of the ball and we will be chasing shadows at times,” he said.
“But it’s good for us because it is better than just training. We also hope to have some new players in for the game if everything goes well.”
